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Cast Bios

Each week I will feature a cast member's biography.

This week's star is: Kelsey Grammer, as Doctor Frasier Crane
 
Three-time Emmy Award winner Kelsey Grammer is the first actor in television history to receive multiple Emmy nominations for his performance in the same role on three different series. He received two nominations for his original portrayal of Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers, another for his guest appearance in the role on NBCs Wings and six nominations, which have earned him three Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor, for his work on Frasier.

Grammer was born on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was raised by his mother and grandfather, first in New Jersey, and then in Florida. After the death of his grandfather, the 12-year-old Grammer was drawn to the works of William Shakespeare, which fostered his love of the English language.

Grammers first acting performance was in a high school production of The Little Foxes, and with the encouragement of his English and drama teachers, he decided to pursue acting as a career. After two years at the Juilliard School, he was accepted by the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where he spent three years performing in classic works by Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw.

He later performed in regional theaters across the United States, including at the Guthrie in Minneapolis, before appearing in the off-Broadway productions of Plenty, Sunday in the Park with George, A Month in the Country and the Obie Award-winning Quartermaines Terms. His Broadway credits include Macbeth and Othello, and one of his most recent stage appearances was in the title role of a production of Richard II at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

Grammer recently starred in the feature film Fifteen Minutes for New Line Cinema, which also starred Robert DeNiro and Edward Burns. Grammers additional feature-film credits include the voice of the prospector, Stinky Pete, in the critically acclaimed animated film Toy Story 2, and the film Down Periscope.

Among Grammers television credits are roles on the daytime dramas Another World, One Life to Live and Guiding Light. He also made a guest appearance in the premiere episode of Kate & Allie and had parts in the miniseries Kennedy and the NBC movies London Suite, Dance til Dawn, Beyond Suspicion and The Innocent. He hosted an hour-long NBC salute to Jack Benny as well as the 1998 Grammy Awards. Additionally, he starred in the cable television movies Pentagon Wars and The Sports Pages with Bob Newhart.

Grammer, who joined Cheers in 1984, has received two Golden Globe Awards, an American Comedy Award and a Peoples Choice Award in addition to his Emmys. His autobiography, So Far ..., was published in the fall of 1995.

Grammer and his wife live in the Los Angeles area with his four dogs and several horses. He enjoys singing, playing piano, golf, tennis and sailing on his 37-foot boat. His birthday is February 21.

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JANE LEEVES: Daphne Moon
"I wish I were more like Daphne -- she's so comfortable with who she is," says Jane Leeves, who earned an Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of the warm-hearted, semi-psychic Daphne Moon. "I think her frankness is often
viewed as kookiness. Really, she's just one of those people who doesn't edit their thoughts and feelings. I'm shier."
Acting always appealed to Leeves, who recalls writing in a schoolbook at age 5 that she wanted to be an actress. Born in London, she was raised, along with two sisters and a brother, in East Grinstead, Sussex, the daughter of an engineer and a nurse. Her first dream as a performer was to be a ballerina, but that career was cut short by an injury when she was 18. She bounced back with modeling and less strenuous dancing in commercials and rock videos.

Leeves moved to Los Angeles hoping to break out of the dancer mold and be considered as an actress. She was soon cast as Blue on the syndicated series "Throb." Before "Frasier," television audiences may have known her best for
her portrayal of Audrey Cohen, the girlfriend of Miles Silverberg, on "Murphy Brown." Leeves also has the distinction of having played the virgin who beds John F. Kennedy Jr. in one of the most talked about episodes of NBC's "Seinfeld." Her other television credits include a starring role in the NBC miniseries "Pandora's Clock."
Leeves feature-film credits include "Music of the Heart," "Miracle on 34th Street," "To Live and Die in L.A.," Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life," "The Hunger," "Mr. Write" (opposite Paul Reiser), Tim Burton's animated feature "James and the Giant Peach" for Disney, and the independent feature "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," co-starring opposite Tom Conti (NBC's "Deadline") and "ER's" Anthony Edwards.

John Mahoney: Martin Crane

"Martin and Frasier are still trying to figure each other out," says John Mahoney of his character, Martin Crane, the ex-cop father of psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). "Martin's a fish-out-of-water in his own family, which has three psychiatristshis wife and two sonsand there's a great deal of bad blood that he and Frasier have tried to cleanse living together." Mahoney's performance as the Crane patriarch on "Frasier" has garnered him a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor.
The Tony-winning actor ("House of Blue Leaves") may best be remembered by audiences as the college professor who was splashed in the face with a drink in "Moonstruck." Ironically, teaching is one of the professions he tried before becoming an actor.

Born in Manchester, England, Mahoney emigrated to the United States after high school and joined the Army, where he worked on losing his British accent. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Quincy College and a masters in English from Western Illinois University. However, he did not decide to pursue acting until after trying a variety of other careers, including college professor, hospital orderly and medical-journal editor, all of which left him unfulfilled.

At age 37, Mahoney enrolled in classes at Chicago's St. Nicholas Theaterco-founded by David Mametwhere he performed opposite John Malkovich, who invited him to join the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Mahoney has since appeared in more than 30 Steppenwolf productions. In addition to a Tony, he received a Clarence Derwent Award and a Drama Desk nomination for his performance in "House of Blue Leaves." He received his second Drama Desk nomination and a Theater World Award for his portrayal of Harold in the off-Broadway production of "Orphans."

In 1994 he made his directorial debut at Steppenwolf with the production of "Talking Heads," a play made up of a series of monologues. He was seen on stage at Steppenwolf in 1998 in "The Man Who Came to Dinner," directed by James Burrows. He also traveled with this production to the Barbican Center in London.

Mahoney's feature-film credits include "She's the One," "The American President," "Primal Fear," "Barton Fink," "Suspect," "The Russia House," "Frantic," "Betrayed," "Eight Men Out," "Say Anything," "The Manhattan Project," "Article 99," "Striking Distance," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "Reality Bites" and "In the Line of Fire."

On television he has starred on the series "The Human Factor," "H.E.L.P." and "Lady Blue," in the NBC miniseries "Favorite Son," and in such television movies as "Will," "Dinner at Eight," "The Image," "The Killing Floor," "First Step" and David Mamet's "The Water Engine."

Mahoney lives in Chicago. His birthday is June 20.






GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION.





If any of the cast members has a web site dedicated to just them, I might include a link to it here.